so i started this yesterday and i could barely lift the bar with no added weights onto it, i couldnt even manage 8 reps let alone 2 sets of it
i am so weak, what should i do?

Which lift are you referring to? I know I, personally had trouble with the overhead press initially. Olympic bars (what most gyms use) are 45lb or 20kg (depending on what part of the world you live in). If you can't do 8 reps of a particular exercise with that much, try to find a fixed-weight bar that is lower. If your gym doesn't have those (which is unusual in my experience), use dumbbells instead.

Hi all, I am just about to start this routine and wanted to check in and introduce myself... I am sure I will have questions to ask in the future and there seems to be some very knowledgeable people on this thread. I am primarily a runner, but recently just recovered from a knee injury and have been told that I need to address muscle balance in my body - hence lifting. My previous sport means I am really not very strong in my upper body so starting off from scratch, but I am really looking forward to starting a fitness regime again!

I have my gym induction on Friday where I'm told the instructor will help me on my form, then will be working out my 10 rep max weights probably on Sunday, I cant wait!

Ill update with starting weights and a 'before' picture some time after Sunday.

(Sorry if this post is too off-topic and self indulgent)

No such thing as being too self-indulgent buddy! Showing off good progress helps motivate others who are looking at starting to do the same.

Which lift are you referring to? I know I, personally had trouble with the overhead press initially. Olympic bars (what most gyms use) are 45lb or 20kg (depending on what part of the world you live in). If you can't do 8 reps of a particular exercise with that much, try to find a fixed-weight bar that is lower. If your gym doesn't have those (which is unusual in my experience), use dumbbells instead.

i started with squats using the olympic bar with no added weight, and it was a lot heaver than i imagined lol, i managed to finish one set but couldnt do another one plus i couldnt really do a warm up set as i was at the lightest, i burned out and lost so much energy and could barely manage to do a couple reps with the last few exercises
Its the first time ive worked out 6 months

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It is when you are doing it 3 times a week. Also remember you are OHP and benching each workout, most programs have you alternate. Same with squats a n SLDL. How many beginner programs have you doing more than 1 set of deads a week? As for curls, you are rowing and curling in the same workout, so its technically hitting your biceps 4 times.

Without knowing anything about you other than you are 43 and human. I assume you are a male that is 5.9-6.1 and under 200lbs. In that case i would recomend a diet for the first 2 cycles like this:

100grams of fats
100 grams of protein
150-200 grams of carbs

It works out to about 2000 calories, which is the min a normal human should go down to while working out, you can go much higher on carbs as your performance increases. Plenty of protein for muscle growth (studies have seen 4lbs a month on 100 grams), plenty of carbs so you can perform on the lifts, and enough fats to keep hormone levels in check and keep connecting tissue and joints working (remember your cells are only made of protein, cholesterol, and fat). That should be enough to lose fat and gain muscle for the first couple of cycles.

Thanks nightanole, I am 5'11 and I am 17.5 stone. Would you still suggest the 2000 calories for the first 10 weeks?

I've only failed curls before (Cycle 3) so I was sure something had to give this Cycle, but it's disappointing to be failing any of the big 3 all the same.

I started out skinny fat at 165lbs and 24% bodyfat, and am slowly fixing that (currently 155lbs 18% bodyfat) by eating slightly less than maintenance, so I'm not expecting any great strength gains from here on in (it seems like I might have maxed out on the strength gains I can make whilst cutting).

Hopefully I've only got another 2 or 3 cycles of my current calorific intake before I can start bulking and increasing the weight again!

Thanks nightanole, I am 5'11 and I am 17.5 stone. Would you still suggest the 2000 calories for the first 10 weeks?

Thanks again.

Yes id stay at 2000. You should still loose weight since you are pretty big. Around 14 stone you might want to reevaluate. Still 2000 for a 245lb guy is going to be a pretty big cut, so see how you perform and your weight loss. Still what i posted is the min and should be good for you till around 11-12 stone depending on how much muscle mass you have. At that point you might need to up the calories to continue lifting progression.

Rule of thumb, you should never miss lifts the first 2 weeks of every cycle. If you do your are cutting too deep and going backwards on strength.

Well spent day with wife at shooting range again. This might be the common thing as we have a class coming up in 4 weeks to get ready for. Anyhow no workout today and way to much food the past few days. Tomorrow will be cycle 6 week 4 heavy day. I'm just posting to keep myself accountable.

Ok, y'all were right. I am on Cycle 1 Week 3 heavy day and it isn't as easy as the last two weeks. I still feel like a putz warming up with the bar, but I don't want to rush it. On the plus side, I think I have mastered the form for every exercise over the last two weeks.

The best thing about dying during PT is that you die strong!

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I am going to start c1 d1 today. I will be seeing what my 10 max. Have I read it correctly that if I am looking for my 10 max I only do one work set today? If so do I just move on to my medium day next time or do I have to do the heavy day next time?
Also as I am a fat sod with muscle underneath can I do 3 work sets?

I am going to start c1 d1 today. I will be seeing what my 10 max. Have I read it correctly that if I am looking for my 10 max I only do one work set today? If so do I just move on to my medium day next time or do I have to do the heavy day next time?
Also as I am a fat sod with muscle underneath can I do 3 work sets?

Figure out your ten rep max before you start the program....c1d1 is not the day you figure out ten rep max.....also you should complete two sets just like the program will be...otherwise you wont be as fatigued and you will get jacked up numbers on your later exercises bc you wont be as tired as you should be...figure out your ten rep max....wait two days and start your heavy day.

Good luck with that. Most people are on this routine for 5-7 cycles and then move on. You are not going to see much improvement by adding 5-7lbs of muscle(almost all core and legs). At best you are going to have someone that naturally has 15"+ arms while sitting on the couch, who ran this program and lost 20-30lbs and didnt gain a lick of muscle. Those before/after pics will look the most shocking, yet they didnt gain any muscle.

This program is only to correct any muscle imbalances(never squated/rowed, only was curl/bench bro) and show you the ropes and get your form down. On average you will gain a pound of muscle a month on a recomp (90% of us that dont gain weight on the program) and round lifting 200lbs you will forever stall because you can make the 10% jump the next cycle.

Also, will I make some good progress muscle growth wise, when I eat enough protein/get enough calories? I did a different program and gained like 10 pounds in 6 weeks. (I was severely underweight; 125 pounds and about 5'11-6 ft.) I don't really care about getting quite a bit of fat. It won't be noticeable anyway. Guy above me said you will get 5-7 lbs of muscle.. What?

Figure out your ten rep max before you start the program....c1d1 is not the day you figure out ten rep max.....also you should complete two sets just like the program will be...otherwise you wont be as fatigued and you will get jacked up numbers on your later exercises bc you wont be as tired as you should be...figure out your ten rep max....wait two days and start your heavy day.

Thanks for that. OK, I have got within the ball park with my 10rm most of the lifts I ended up getting the 10 straight off. My only problem is is that I have 2 chronic lung conditions and a central tendon weakness of the diaphragm, which has pushed one of my lungs up, just under a quarter. Can I take longer rest periods between lifting sets and change of exercise as my recovery is not that good for obvious reasons and if so will I still benefit from the workout overtime.

Also, I will add before and after pics after a few cycles if they are of use on here?

First let me say I need some suggestions. This cycle my grip on the sldl keeps starting to give out about rep6-7.I thought about straps but don't think I want to go that route as it will just be a band aide on the problem. I know there are the grip exercisers but will that work for extended grip strength?

Today was an interesting lift day. After the 2nd set of bench press my triceps felt like they were about to explode. They've never felt that pumped or tired before.

Todays workout-

Sqt-205-4x7
Bench-225-2x7,2x6 (last 2 sets just could not get last rep out)
BOR-165-4x7
ohp-125-2x11
sldl-205-7,7,5 (grip just would not hold out, so tried to do extra set to get the reps in)
curls-80-2x11
calf raises-205-2x11
shrugs-160-1x11

Thanks for that. OK, I have got within the ball park with my 10rm most of the lifts I ended up getting the 10 straight off. My only problem is is that I have 2 chronic lung conditions and a central tendon weakness of the diaphragm, which has pushed one of my lungs up, just under a quarter. Can I take longer rest periods between lifting sets and change of exercise as my recovery is not that good for obvious reasons and if so will I still benefit from the workout overtime.

Also, I will add before and after pics after a few cycles if they are of use on here?

Thanks again

I would say yes....you go to the gym to get fit and stonger not hurt yourself....if u need longer rests do them....try not to go too long...hypertrophy is 30-90 seconds (no longer than 2 minutes) i believe and strength training 3-5 minutes.

I would say yes....you go to the gym to get fit and stonger not hurt yourself....if u need longer rests do them....try not to go too long...hypertrophy is 30-90 seconds (no longer than 2 minutes) i believe and strength training 3-5 minutes.

Yeah that makes sense. Hopefully I should start improving with my recovery rate as I progress.
Would I add the B&A photos here or somewhere else?
Your help is much appreciated. Thank you.

I would say yes....you go to the gym to get fit and stonger not hurt yourself....if u need longer rests do them....try not to go too long...hypertrophy is 30-90 seconds (no longer than 2 minutes) i believe and strength training 3-5 minutes.

It has to do with training style and rep range. On 5x5 the time is technically unlimited but after 5 min the odds of getting another rep become slim on a 5 rep set.
On all pro the limit is 90 seconds so you are prefatigued for the next set so you can get the same results with lower weight and less connecting tissue damage. I hate to dare you to run allpro on 3-5min rests, but im pretty sure you would come back after 2 months with tendonits and stalled lifts complaints.

Originally Posted by Doughnutfingers

Yeah that makes sense. Hopefully I should start improving with my recovery rate as I progress.
Would I add the B&A photos here or somewhere else?
Your help is much appreciated. Thank you.

Honestly i would start with lighter weights that you are guaranteed to pass your first cycle with, without having to alter the program. Whats worse case scenario, you start out 20% too light and spend an extra cycle or 2 practicing your form? Some people run the first couple of cycles at 15% increments due to N00b gains and or picking lighter weights to start off with.
There is a B&A/progress thread on the forum that has this sticky. Most dont post B&A in the threads.

C1W4, I've been running this on tuesdays but have to miss it today. Can I do two heavy's on Wed/Sat or does the extra day rest mean I should do week 3 again?

Heavy heavy is just 2 days a week with ATLEAST 3 days rest. wed/sat is fine (i was doing mon/friday during the hollidays) if your next heavy day isnt till tues. You can try to pull off a heavy sat and a heavy monday(with 1 extra rep) but that will be wolverine mode recovery.

It has to do with training style and rep range. On 5x5 the time is technically unlimited but after 5 min the odds of getting another rep become slim on a 5 rep set.
On all pro the limit is 90 seconds so you are prefatigued for the next set so you can get the same results with lower weight and less connecting tissue damage. I hate to dare you to run allpro on 3-5min rests, but im pretty sure you would come back after 2 months with tendonits and stalled lifts complaints.

Honestly i would start with lighter weights that you are guaranteed to pass your first cycle with, without having to alter the program. Whats worse case scenario, you start out 20% too light and spend an extra cycle or 2 practicing your form? Some people run the first couple of cycles at 15% increments due to N00b gains and or picking lighter weights to start off with.
There is a B&A/progress thread on the forum that has this sticky. Most dont post B&A in the threads.

Makes more sense ro do it this way...just run lower weights and progress from there..

Side question how lonf can i run week 1 or miss workouts before i start to lose size and strength?

Been dealing with some personal stuff and prob gonna miss a few workout again this week.

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